Two hearts, one wish
by osuwariboy
Summary: When Kagome and Kikyo confront each other and realize they want the same thing, they make a wish that turns Inuyasha's world upside down. Will the hanyou be able to overcome this new trial or will pain swallow him whole?


**Disclaimer:** Inuyasha and the gang do not belong to me, they belong to Rumiko Takahashi.  
**Note:** Well, another piece of work that's been dancing around in my head for quite a while before I actually decided to put it down on "paper" he he he. This one however was written especially for the "make a wish" countest on mediaminer. It was a bit of a hassle to write, but I do believe I've attained a pretty decent result :). It's a bit on the sad part, so be warned ;). 

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* * *

Two hearts, one wish**

Panting in exhaustion, I stop to lean against a tree, clutching my burning side in pain. When I take my hands away from my hip, they come out stained with red and I can't help but wince, though in pain or at my own stupidity, I can't really tell. Maybe in the end, it's a bit of both, but I don't have time to dwell on this as the heavy sound of footsteps tells me that my pursuer is still hot on my track. Gritting my teeth, I take off again at a stumbling pace, desperately hoping Inuyasha would show up, but at the same time dreading that same fact. After all, the one I was originally running from... was him.

-- Flashback --

_"Are you sure about this Kagome-chan?" asked Sango with a worried frown._

_"Yes Sango. Inuyasha's original wish was to become a full youkai... and I believe he deserves it after working so hard for so long," I answered with a smile._

_"True as that might be, do you know what will happen if he does make such a wish?" questioned Miroku, equally doubtful._

_"I don't know... but I trust Inuyasha. I know he'll make the right choice, I just know it," I shot back, feeling water rapidly well up in my eyes._

_"Kagome-chan..." whispered the demon slayer when she saw my expression._

_"It's okay. If transforming into a full-blooded youkai can make Inuyasha happy then it's fine with me," I reply before walking briskly away in order to hide my unshed tears from my friends._

_Who am I kidding? Turning Inuyasha into a full youkai is the last thing I want to happen. I remember all too well his previous transformations not to dread the end result of such a wish. Yet, I know that if it's what he really wants then I'll manage to live with it somehow because Inuyasha's happiness really is my most heartfelt wish. It's what I want the most in the world. I want to see him smile, I want to see him laugh... I want to mend his broken heart._

_But I suppose there's a deeper, more selfish side to this little desire. While it's true that I do want him to be happy... I can't help but want to be the center of this happiness. Just thinking about that makes me feel bad, but I can't help it either. I love him so much that it hurts sometimes. So I think it's only natural that I want to be with him in the end._

_And so, it's with a decided if somewhat dreadful heart that I set in search for Inuyasha. I know he isn't that far away. He's never really far when I'm there, but that still leaves quite some ground to cover. Deciding to start at the most likely location, I head for the goshinboku. However, before I'm even halfway there, I stop dead in my tracks. In the sky above the giant tree, about a dozen long serpentine creatures are lazily circling in the warm summer air. Knowing perfectly well what this means, I take off at full speed, unable to shake the deep sense of foreboding that now courses through me._

_When I finally do reach my destination, it's to see my deepest and darkest fear materialized in the form of Kikyo. I feel my heart begin to crack at the vision before me. They're standing so close together that a single step will bring Inuyasha into her embrace. Desperately I cling to the hope that he will turn away, that he'll distance himself from that dreadful woman and come toward me._

_"The promised time has come Inuyasha. Are you ready to go to hell with me?" questioned the undead miko._

_"Yes Kikyo... I'm ready," answered Inuyasha without the slightest hesitation._

_And everything comes crashing down. I watch helplessly as Inuyasha takes that one last dreadful step and melts into the other woman's embrace. I watch helplessly as Kikyo opens her eyes, spots me... and smiles. Not a kind smile, but a smile full of contempt and self-satisfaction. She knows she's won and she knows I know it too... and she enjoys watching my torment. Tears prickle the corner of my eyes but I bolt off before they have a chance of showing. I won't give that bitch the satisfaction of seeing me cry!_

_Tears are pouring freely down my face now that I'm out of sight. They blur my vision and prevent me from really seeing where I'm going. But I'm way past caring now. At one point, I think I hear his voice calling after me, but in the end I know it's just my imagination. After all, I've never been anything else than a jewel collector to him. I was always second best. Kikyo always came first. I was a fool to think for even a second that I stood a chance against her. And so I run. Hoping that I could just disappear... and at the same time hoping desperately to see a patch of silver appear before me and embrace me tenderly, telling me that everything's okay that the entire situation had merely been a big misunderstanding._

-- End flashback --

Of course, what really did show up in front of me was anything but a patch of silver hair. It was the grotesque mask of a bear youkai that wanted nothing less than the jewel I was carrying. I should have known that blasted thing would attract every youkai in the area to my defenseless person... but of course at the time, all I cared about was getting away from the dreadful sight before me. And now, I pay the price with a wound to my chest and a damn persistent pursuer that stinks so much it makes me wanna puke.

Abruptly, my feet, rendered clumsy by exhaustion and my injury, catch on a root and I fall forward. In a desperate effort to spare my wounded chest, I twist to the side before I touch the ground and land hard, knocking all the wind out of me. I try to stand up once again, but I quickly realize the futility of such an effort. My legs are trembling with overuse, my lungs are burning as they desperately try to bring me the oxygen my organism demands and my chest is a searing blaze of agony every time I move my arms.

Looking ahead, I manage to see a steep downward slope only a few meters in front of me. Pooling all my remaining strength together, I start to crawl toward it. A part of me realizes the stupidity of my own action, that by launching myself down, I risk injuring myself even more. But my survival instincts overrides these thoughts and keeps me going. After an eternity of struggling, I finally manage to reach the edge just as the heavy footsteps of my pursuer begin to draw closer.

Shifting my gaze upward, I see with terror the grotesque mask of the bear youkai that attacked me earlier. His lips are currently curled upward in a sneer as he looks at me.

"Damn bitch, you sure know how to keep someone running!" he snarls in a barely human voice that makes me wince. "Now hand over the jewel and I'll make it quick!"

I don't say anything of course. I'm too out of breath to talk and even had I not been panting as I was, fear would have kept me silent. So I watch helplessly as he raises his rusty sword in the air and prepares to bring it down. Before he can do so however, I push myself the rest of the way to the slope and suddenly, I'm half rolling, half sliding downward.

A few seconds into my fall, I bang my head painfully on something and consciousness fades away. Oh I'm not _completely _unconscious but the pain is more than enough to paralyze me completely and prevent me from doing anything other than lie unmoving on the ground when I reach the bottom. It takes long minutes for the ringing in my head to subside and when it does, it's only to realize that once again, a shadow is looming over me.

Opening my eyes with every intention of giving that blasted youkai a piece of my mind, I stop short, my mouth hanging open and the words dying in my throat. The form I had originally assumed to be my pursuer turned out to be... Kikyo of all people. She's towering over me with an unreadable expression on her face.

"Well, you sure are a sorry sight," she says levelly.

"W... What... do you... want?" I ask as angrily as I can manage with barely enough breath to speak one word at a time.

"So it seems you still have some fight left in you after all," she replies with an amused smile. It lasts only a second however before a frown replaces it. "Inuyasha went after you the minute you bolted off. But he could not pick up on your trail. Even I had a hard time finding you."

I'm not exactly sure how I should take this piece of information. Should I be happy or sad at the thought? And If Inuyasha really had come after me, then why on earth did he not catch up? He can run at least three times faster than I and with his sense of smell then there's no way he could lose my trail. Probably seeing the questions dancing in my eyes, Kikyo let out a small snort of derision before shooting me a disapproving stare.

"You really are simple-minded. The jewel answered to your pain and granted your wish not to be found. Even a child would have figured that much by now," she says simply.

"Well sorry... if I'm not as smart... as you are!" I mutter contritely. "I happened... to have other things... to worry about... than wondering if... Inuyasha was actually going... to come and save me!

"How pathetic, you place yourself in danger and then blame someone else for the fact. You really are nothing but a child," she taunts mercilessly and finally, I can't bear it any longer.

"And what about you?" I hiss in a dangerously low voice. "You act so damn high and mighty! Yet the truth is that you're afraid of me aren't you?"

I watch with great satisfaction as Kikyo's eyes widen in both surprise and astonishment. Not giving her time to recover, I continue, eager to press my advantage.

"It's so obvious that I don't know why I didn't see it before. All this time, you've been watching helplessly as I gradually healed Inuyasha's heart. Thanks to me, he's become able to trust people again. He may not have learned to smile or laugh yet, but it's just a matter of time! And then you come and say I'm childish for caring about him? What about you? All you've ever wanted was to bring him to hell with you! How childish is _that_?" I blurt, my voice gradually rising in volume.

"And what if I do? I love him so it's only natural for me to want to be with him!" she exclaims defensively.

"Don't make me laugh! All you ever saw in Inuyasha was a mean to an end!" I snap, beyond caring about whether my words are too harsh or not.

"NOT TRUE!" she cries back, but I can detect the tremor in her voice that tells me my blow just struck home.

"You know it's true! Fifty years ago, you could not bear the responsibility of keeping the jewel pure so you tried to use Inuyasha to free yourself!" I continue hotly.

"NO!" she denies forcefully, yet the truth behind my words cuts her deep, I can see that.

"And now, the real reason you're so intent on getting Inuyasha to hell isn't because you want to be with him... it's because you're jealous of me. Don't lie! I saw it in your eyes!" I finish, my anger and rage culminating. "You never had any thought for him at all did you? All you ever did was use him to get what you wanted! And after that, you have the audacity of saying you love him? If you really loved him then the least you would want would be for him to be happy!"

Only when I see Kikyo collapse to her knees, her shoulders trembling with god only knows what emotions, do I realize just how harsh my words were. I feel guilt start to well up inside of me, but I can't seem to really feel it. Despite the wrongness of my behavior, what I said was still the truth. A truth I never intended to reveal to anyone... yet still the truth.

"You..." began the miko in a small and quivering voice. "HOW DARE YOU SPEAK AS IF YOU UNDERSTAND ME!" she finishes in an explosion of her own.

"HOW COULD YOU EVEN BEGIN TO KNOW THE SUFFERING I HAD TO ENDURE? THE CONSTANT STRAIN OF ALWAYS TRYING TO MEET WITH EVERYONE'S EXPECTATIONS?" she yells, surprising me with the vehemence of her answer.

"YOU SAY I DON'T LOVE HIM YET NOT A SECOND HAS GONE BY WITHOUT ME THINKING OF HIM AND BOILING WITH ANGER AT KNOWING HE WAS WITH YOU! YOU KNOW NOTHING OF MY FEELINGS FOR HIM SO DON'T TALK AS IF YOU KNOW EVERYTHING!" she screams once again before falling silent.

Silence then falls on us. A thick, suffocating and heavy silence that seems to make the surrounding forest draw in on itself. We both stare at each other, not knowing what to say or do anymore. I can see surprise painted on Kikyo's face, plainly her own reaction was as unexpected to her as it was to me.

After an eternity of this unbearable staring contest, the sheer stupidity of the situation starts to register in my mind and I can't help but burst out laughing. And I laugh, as hard as my injury permits me. I laugh until tears come to my eyes and even then, I laugh some more. I'm fully aware of Kikyo's dumbfounded gaze on me, but I can't stop myself. Everything is just so ridiculous that all I can do is laugh.

"If I might ask... what exactly is so funny?" questions Kikyo when I'm finally through with my laughing fit.

"Haven't you listened to us talking? We've been arguing like two brainless teenagers trying to determine who loves Inuyasha the most," I answer breathlessly.

I see realization dawn on Kikyo's face before she too lets out an amused chuckle. "We do make quite the pathetic bunch," she finally agrees with a shake of her head.

"I suppose love does have that tendency. Making people lose their head and behave like children," I add more calmly.

"But in the end, that's what makes it so beautiful does it not?" questions the woman dreamily.

"Yes," I breath feeling an unexpected peace settle upon me.

Strange how life works sometimes. Moments ago Kikyo and I were practically at each other's throat and now we're actually agreeing with each other. That too would have been reason enough to laugh, but I sort of spent myself already. So I simply let a peaceful silence envelop us both as I contemplate what to say next. As it turns out, Kikyo ends up being the one to speak first.

"You know, you were partly right about me. I did try to use Inuyasha to get rid of the jewel fifty years ago," confesses Kikyo softly. "Yet, I did love him back then... and I still do now. But I suppose my feelings are different from yours. While your love is pure and selfless, mine is dark and selfish. Maybe in a sense, we're both wrong and reality lies somewhere in between."

I contemplate my rival's words for a few seconds, letting them sink in and gradually, I realize she's right. Love does come in all shapes and sizes and every form it takes has its pluses and minuses. No form of love can really be called absolute... yet every form remains right, no matter how selfless or selfish it is.

"I'd rather think we're both right," I reply with a wry smile. "Still, regardless of the right or wrong, we both desire the very same thing in the end. We want to be with Inuyasha."

"Yes... and we want to be the one to bring him the happiness he so righteously deserves," continues Kikyo sadly.

"And we both know that as long as the other exists... Inuyasha will be forever stuck in between, never able to truly move on because he loves us both and can't bear to choose between us," I conclude in a whisper.

"So where does this leave us? None of us has it in her to kill the other and even if we had, it would only cause Inuyasha to hate the one still alive in the end," says Kikyo bitterly.

"Maybe if we were to become one again then the problem could be solved," I blurt, causing my rival to look at me as if I just grew a second head.

"If I reintegrate your soul then I'll become once again a dormant part of you. That's hardly what I would call 'solving the problem'," she shots back defensively.

"That's not what I had in mind at all," I counter, fishing out the pinkish sphere of the jewel from the pocket of my uniform. "If we use the jewel to merge our two souls into one then the end result would be a totally new person, neither me nor you, but something 'in between' as you said earlier."

"Someone that is partly you and partly me at the same time. Someone that would be able to bring a smile to Inuyasha's lips like only you can..." starts Kikyo.

"... And someone who would be able to comfort him like only you know how to do," I finish solemnly.

"A new person... a new soul that would be able to love him the right way without tearing him apart like we did. Yes... I believe it might be the only possible solution," agrees the miko somewhat sadly.

"So... shall we do it?" I ask a bit nervously.

"Yes, no sense in dragging things unnecessarily," agrees Kikyo. "But before we become one Kagome, I will say that... despite everything that may have happened, I am glad to have met someone like you."

"I'm glad to have met you too Kikyo," I murmur back with an unsteady smile.

And with that said, we both take hold of the shikon jewel and make our wish.

* * *

The sand of the beach felt warm under Inuyasha's feet as he ran tirelessly in search of Kagome. He couldn't believe the girl had just vanished like that. One moment she was bolting through the forest just a short distance ahead of him and the next, she was just... gone. Her scent, her presence, everything had just disappeared. All day now he had been running around left and right, desperately trying to locate her and he had not been able to find a single trace of her. 

"Dammit! I swear when I find that girl I'm going to give her a piece of my mind!" he growled irritably.

Of course, despite his gruffness, he couldn't help but feel concerned for the schoolgirl. She had been crying when she left after all. What's more, she had been carrying the shikon jewel, a relic that was sure to attract a number of youkai to her if she was not careful... and without her bow, she was essentially defenseless.

This last thought caused him to hurry his steps until he appeared to be gliding across the sandy beach. His steps eventually lead him to a small pier that the villagers used to anchor their three small fishing boats. Not many people came here however. Aside from children who wanted to play or people who were sick of eating brown rice and wanted a chance of course, he had not seen anyone venture here for quite some time. This was why, when he spotted the woman standing at the edge of the pier, he stopped his mad dash and stared at her in confusion.

The said woman was currently facing away from him so he could not see her features very well. However, the long black hair tied back with a white ribbon along with the red and white caused him to almost mistake her for Kikyo. The reddish rays of the setting sun reflected into the calm waters of the lake and outlined the woman's figure, giving her a sort of ghostly aura that caused the hanyou to feel drawn toward her like a moth to a flame. And so, before he even realized what he was doing, he was walking down the wooden pier, heading for her.

He did not really bother to conceal his presence so it was no real surprise when the girl turned around to face him while he was still a good ten paces behind her. What _really _was surprising was the woman's features. For a split-second, Inuyasha actually thought he had found Kagome, but the illusion was quick to dissipate. While the woman did resemble the girl he had been looking for, the shape of her face, the quirk of her mouth and the curve of her nose were all slightly different. What's more, the woman did not smell anything like the schoolgirl and that was all the proof he needed to convince himself that he was face to face with a complete stranger.

"Have you seen a girl that looks a bit like you around? She wears a green and white uniform that's rather... unique," questioned the hanyou without preamble. Whether the woman looked like Kagome or not was completely beside the point, he had wasted enough time as it was.

"No I... I did not see anyone," replied the woman absently.

Again, Inuyasha had to force down his surprise. That voice sounded almost like Kikyo's except it was a bit more musical and slightly higher in pitch.

_"Geez, what the hell _is_ with that woman. She looks almost like Kagome and sounds almost like Kikyo... Shit who else is she 'almost' like?"_ he thought in irritation.

Abruptly he realized that the miko was looking at him expectantly and that while he had been busy with his thoughts, he had missed the question she had asked him.

"What?" he asked abruptly, masking his embarrassment with gruffness.

"Your name," said the woman, with an annoyed frown.

"Why do you care? It's not as if we'll meet again or anything," snapped back the hanyou suspiciously.

"Maybe not... but this stone keeps murmuring the name Inuyasha in my mind so I was simply wondering if you were that person," shot back the miko.

This time Inuyasha literally fell over in surprise. There, wrapped around that stranger's neck lay nothing less than the shikon jewel! How did it get there? Where did she find it? And if the jewel was here then what had happened to Kagome? Questions whirled around in his head, passing by too fast for him to utter a single one so he simply remained standing there, gaping like a fish at the pinkish sphere the woman was presenting him.

"Is anything the matter?" questioned the miko when she noticed his rather dumbfounded expression.

"W... Where... did you... get that?" stuttered the hanyou, pointing at the round stone around the stranger's neck.

"And why would you care? It's not as if we'll meet again or anything," shot back the woman, her lips quirking upward into a satisfied smirk at having been able to throw his earlier retort right back at him.

This caused anger to flare inside the hanyou quite effectively incinerating every remnants of surprise he may have felt at finding the shikon jewel at this stranger's neck. Abruptly closing the distance between him and the miko, he grabbed the girl by the collar and hoisted her so she was but an inch from his face.

"Listen here wench! This _stone _as you called it happens to belong to the very girl I'm looking for. So unless you tell me _right now_ how it got into your possession I'm going to rip you to shreds!" growled the hanyou murderously.

"I don't know," answered the girl, sadness filling her features.

"What do you mean you don't know!" exclaimed Inuyasha hotly.

"Are you a hanyou because you're only half-intelligent?" exclaimed the miko angrily. "I said I don't know how I got this stupid thing okay! It was around my neck when I came to!"

"And what about before you came to!" growled the hanyou, feeling more and more irritated by the woman's behavior.

"I don't know either! I don't remember anything aside from waking up a few hours ago!" snapped the woman sharply. And then, in a quieter voice. "I don't even know who I am."

This caused the hanyou to pause. The woman was not lying, that much he could tell by her scent. But then, what could this all mean? What happened to Kagome? Taking a deep breath, he released his hold on the miko's collar and took a step back. It was pointless to get angry at the girl, since she did not remember anything, she was likely as confused as he was.

"That stone you wear, you say it's been calling for Inuyasha over and over right?" questioned the hanyou, his voice calmer if still a little strained.

"Yes," admitted the woman while soothing her slightly rumpled uniform back into place. "That name has been resounding in my head for hours now. It's starting to seriously grate on my nerves."

"Well you can stop searching then because I'm Inuyasha," replied Inuyasha pointedly.

"_You?_" repeated the miko, her eyebrows arching in disbelief.

"Yes _me_. Is there something wrong with that?" snapped the hanyou defensively.

"Not really, though I would have preferred someone with better manners," replied the nameless miko with a meaningful look.

"Keh! Sorry to disappoint you then!" shot back Inuyasha in a sarcastic tone. "Now how about you hand me that damn jewel so we can try and figure out what the hell happened?"

"Fine!" exclaimed the woman in irritation. "Take the damn stone and let's be done with it! It's not like I wanted it in the first place!"

The moment the jewel touched Inuyasha's hand, it started to glow so brightly that he had to cover his eyes with his arm and turn away so as not to get blinded. When the light finally dimmed enough for him to look around, it was to discover that he was not on the pier any longer but in a strange and completely white place. Before he had time to really wonder on where he was and what was going on, two forms materialized before him and he all but fell over in surprise.

"Kikyo! Kagome!" he exclaimed.

_"Welcome Inuyasha,"_ said the ghostly form of Kikyo solemnly.

_"Since you have taken hold of the shikon jewel then it means that you've met the girl who was carrying it. Did you like her?"_ continued Kagome, a small hopeful smile appearing on her face as she said her last words.

"Did I... Dammit! Why would you want to know that? And how on earth would you know about that damn irritating wench? And more importantly... What the fuck's going on here?" demanded Inuyasha angrily.

_"Well, since you qualified her as irritating, I believe we can consider this a good prospect,"_ shot back the miko with a grin of her own.

"Fuck! Will you just answer my damn question?" barked the hanyou, unable to take it anymore.

At once, all traces of humor vanished from the two girls and Inuyasha had the sinking feeling that he wouldn't like what he was about to hear.

_"Inuyasha..."_ began the schoolgirl hesitantly. _"The girl you met carrying the jewel... didn't she look the least bit familiar to you?"_

"What does that..." but then the hanyou froze.

Suddenly, dozens of small details he had not really noticed about that nameless girl sprang to attention in his mind. The way she talked, the way she moved, her unbearable attitude, the way she looked at him, all of it abruptly mixed together, creating an image so... preposterous that he simply refused to look at it.

"No..." he whispered in a haunted voice. "Please tell me you didn't... you couldn't possibly have..."

He looked at the two girl then, begging them, demanding them to prove him wrong, but they both sadly averted their gaze, their silence answering his unspoken question more eloquently than any words ever could.

Inuyasha was no stranger to pain. He had experienced more than his share in his life. The pain of losing his mother, the pain of being rejected by everyone wherever he went, the pain of being betrayed by someone you thought you could trust. But nothing he had ever endured came even remotely close to what he was feeling right now. That searing sensation that paralyzed his lungs and caused his entire body to grow stiff... could that even be called pain? Even agony seemed too poor a word to describe it.

"Why?" he finally managed to ask in a hoarse whisper.

_"Because we could not bear to see you thorned up between the two of us anymore,"_ answered Kikyo.

The answer was so simple and so straightforward, so incongruous and childish that all the hanyou could do was gape in open wonder... until all his emotions coalesced together in an explosion of anger that is.

"WHAT?" he screamed, not believing what he just heard. "You used the jewel... gave up your _lives_ just because I couldn't choose between the two of you?"

And then, when they both remained silent. "WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU THINKING? DID YOU HONESTLY THINK THAT WOULD MAKE ME HAPPY?"

_"Maybe not right away. But in the long run, we really did believe it was for the best,"_ answered Kagome calmly.

"Then you thought wrong! How can you possibly expect me to be happy knowing what you did?" spat Inuyasha venomously.

_"Then tell us, how long exactly were you planning to keep hovering between the two of us?"_ questioned Kikyo sharply.

Now _that _brought the hanyou's anger to a screeching halt. It was not so much what the miko had said that the tone on which she said it that caused him to pause though. "Kikyo..." he whispered, taken aback by the sheer amount of anguish present in her voice.

_"Three years now. Three years you've had to make up your mind and still you could not decide! There's just so much a woman can take before she snaps! Kagome and I were practically at each other's throat when we realized what was going on! You weren't the only one to suffer because of your indecision, we too had to endure our share of pain! That's also part of the reason we decided to use the jewel! Because _we_ could not bear it any longer either!"_ explained the woman in a broken voice.

_"Inuyasha, Kikyo is telling the truth. We made our wish as much to end our torment as to end yours. The girl you saw was born when our two souls combined together into one. She's the materialization of our wish. One single girl that will allow you to finally find love and happiness,"_ added Kagome seriously.

Inuyasha let out a small, bitter laugh at this. "Love and happiness? Do you honestly believe I can love someone who will constantly haunt me with your memories?"

_"Maybe... and maybe not. Whatever happens between the two of you is now beyond our control. Even if this girl was created out of our two souls, she remains her own person with thoughts and feelings belonging to her and only her. However, despite our best effort, there are still many things we could not give her, and it is up to you to fill the void we left behind,"_ countered Kikyo calmly.

"Keh! And what am I supposed to fill?" inquired the hanyou scornfully.

_"This girl has no memory, no family, no place to call home. No matter what we did, we could not give her a past Inuyasha. That's why it's now up to you... to offer her a future,"_ answered the schoolgirl with a hopeful smile.

"A future? Just that? Who the hell are you taking me for? A damn babysitter?" snapped Inuyasha angrily.

_"Inuyasha, this girl is new to this world. She is like a candle which has not yet been lit. Don't snuff out her light before it even had a chance to shine. You may be angry at us for making this wish... but the girl is and will always remain innocent. No one asks to be born Inuyasha, you of all people should know that,"_ countered Kikyo seriously.

This time, it was Inuyasha's turn to avert his gaze. No matter how much he may try to deny it, he knew that what the miko had just said was true. The girl was not, could not be blamed for existing anymore than he. If anyone should be blamed for this entire mess... it was him and no one else.

"I don't see why I should give her a future," he finally muttered, making the two girls in front of him gasp.

_"Inuyasha..."_ began Kagome in consternation, but before she could say much more, the hanyou cut her off.

"Keh! Let me finish before deciding I'm a heartless monster!" he snapped in irritation. "Where she belongs and what path she should follow isn't something I can decide for her. Sure I'll help her... but in the end, she has to make her own choices. If she isn't strong enough to build her own future then I don't see why I should bother to help her."

_"I would not worry if I were you. She was made from both of our souls after all,"_ replied Kikyo with a relieved smile.

And then, as if his acceptance had been some sort of signal, their already partially transparent forms began to grow fainter. Noticing this, the two girls shot each other a sad look before returning their gaze to the stupefied hanyou.

_"It seems our time here has finally come to an end,"_ said Kagome with a shaky smile.

"WHAT?" exclaimed Inuyasha, realizing with horror that the last traces of the two girls he had loved so much would not remain inside the jewel as he had originally hoped. "You mean you..."

_"Yes..."_ breathed Kikyo. _"The reason we sealed the last remnants of our respective souls in the jewel was to allow you to put an end to a sad chapter of your life."_

_"And now this purpose has been served. So our presence here is no longer needed,"_ finished the schoolgirl, her voice growing more and more distant with every word.

"No wait! You can't go! You can't possibly leave me alone like this!" exclaimed the desperate hanyou.

_"We will always be with you Inuyasha... no matter what, we will always remain by your side,"_ finished Kikyo before the two shapes disappeared completely.

And abruptly, Inuyasha was back on the pier... only to find himself hurled to the ground by a resounding and totally unexpected slap. Blinking several times to try and reassert his surroundings as well as what the hell had just happened, he shifted his gaze to the miko who was hovering worriedly over him.

"Dammit wench! What the fuck was that for!" he barked angrily.

"You've been staring into space for close to half an hour now so excuse me if I was getting worried!" shot back the nameless girl hotly.

"Now you listen to me you stupid wench," hissed Inuyasha in barely controlled fury, raising his clenched fist to add emphasis to his words. _"... Clenched fist?"_ he realized stopping short.

Due to his abrupt return to reality, he had failed to notice that his right hand had been clenched tightly into a fist up to now. However, now that his hand hovered not three inches from his face, he would have to be blind not to notice it. Curiosity washing away anger in a matter of seconds, he opened his fingers to reveal a small seashell nestled in the crook of his palm.

Well, maybe seashell wasn't exactly the word for it. While the object _was_ shaped like one, the thing appeared to be made of some sort of translucent crystal. The thing was catching the last rays of the sun and reflecting them in a colorful rainbow that in any other occasion, Inuyasha would have found pretty. As he examined the surface, he realized that the thing seemed to be containing a substance of some sort. Fidgeting with the edge of the seashell, he finally managed to find the catch and push upper half open.

"Rouge?" questioned the nameless woman, clearly taken aback by this rather unexpected discovery. "How on earth did you do that?"

"I..." began the hanyou before the full meaning of the question sank in. "What do you mean how did I do that?"

"Well, didn't you just turn the stone I gave you into this?" explained the girl with a puzzled frown.

"You mean that's the..." but once again Inuyasha found words escaping his mouth.

_"We will always be with you Inuyasha... no matter what, we will always remain by your side."_

Could that have been what Kikyo meant? And if so, what sort of twisted joke was this? This was a woman's object. What could they possibly want him to do with this?

And then the truth hit him full force. This wasn't something for him. This was something to give to a girl he deemed worthy of receiving such a gift. And what better girl to give it to than the one who would make him eventually happy. God this was all so twisted, so sick... so ridiculously _lame _that Inuyasha could not do anything but burst out laughing.

Strangely, at this very moment, everything seemed funny to the hanyou. The fact that he had just lost the two most important women in his life was laughable. The fact that they had crystallized themselves into a rouge container was funny. The fact that his heart was broken into millions of shards right now was hilarious. Yet, the funniest thing at this moment was him, lying on his back, unable to do anything other than laugh hysterically... or was he crying? He couldn't even tell for sure anymore and that alone was cause for him to laugh some more.

He didn't know long how his insanity lasted, but eventually exhaustion got the better of him and he quieted down, allowing a blissful numbness to replace the turmoil of a few minutes ago.

"Are you... all right?" questioned the nameless girl in confused tone.

"Never felt better," whispered Inuyasha much more lightly than he actually felt.

That was a lie as blatant as it was obvious and the look the woman shot him told the hanyou that she most definitively did not believe him. She did not press the issue though and for that, Inuyasha was grateful. He wasn't sure he felt up to answering any questions right now and, come to think of it, he wasn't sure he felt up to much of anything.

"Well then, if you're 'okay' I suppose I'll take my leave now," said the girl while standing up.

_"Leave?"_

For some reason Inuyasha could not fathom, that single word caused a flood of panic to invade him and, almost faster than the eye could see, he was on his feet and blocking the nameless woman's path.

"And where the fuck do you think you're going?" he snapped gruffly.

"To find a place to settle down for the night where else?" shot back the miko with a frown.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed? Venture out on your own like that and you're sure to fall on bandits or youkai!" growled the hanyou in annoyance.

"Or on rude and uneducated hanyou who thinks they know everything," replied the girl with a sardonic smile.

Frowning at the barely disguised insult, Inuyasha let out a small snort of derision before whirling away. "I may be 'rude and uneducated' but I know a place where you'll be able to stay the night. So cut out on the cheap insults or I'm leaving you behind!" he muttered.

"Knowing you, it's probably a stinking cave that reeks of moss and humidity," grumbled the girl contritely.

"Well fine then, go and find your own fucking place to stay and see if I care," snapped Inuyasha before stalking off.

He made it all the way to the end of the pier before realizing that the nameless woman had actually followed him. "I thought you didn't want my 'stinking cave that reeks of moss and humidity'?" he taunted.

"Even a filthy cave is better than sleeping out in the open," countered the miko glumly. "And besides, I don't have anywhere else to go right now."

When he saw the woman's downcast expression, Inuyasha couldn't help but feel a surge of sympathy for her. Having spent years alone, rejected by everyone because of his very nature, he understood perfectly well the pain and anguish one felt when he had no friends and no place to call home. It was an icy sensation that wrapped around you like a cloak and made you numb all over. Definitively not something anyone should ever experience... especially not a girl who had just been abruptly thrust into this world and had no idea what was going on around her.

"Keh! Stop it with the gloomy attitude, it won't do any good!" he finally said firmly.

"Easy for you to say, at least you know who you are!" replied the nameless woman bitterly.

"So do you!" snapped back Inuyasha. "A name's merely something your damn parents give you at birth to address you! It's just a goddamn word! What you are is engraved deep within your heart and nothing can possibly erase that! So you don't have any memories? Then make new ones! So you don't have a name? Then choose one for heaven's sake! The way I see it, your table's been stripped bare, allowing you to start completely anew! Do you know how many people would die for the opportunity you've been given?"

Inuyasha felt the girl's startled gaze on him when he finished his tirade, but he was too angry to pay it much mind. The wound of losing Kagome and Kikyo both at the same time was still fresh and that girl, with her self-pitying act rubbed salt into it without even realizing it. But that wasn't what was really troubling him. What he really found annoying was the fact that, despite the fact that she looked and acted so much like the two women he had lost, taunting him constantly with the reminder of his failure, he just could not bear to leave her alone. God, just being near her was enough to make him want to run away in shame... but at the same time, the mere thought of being away from her stilled his legs.

"Thank you," she said suddenly, making him stop dead in his tracks.

"Thank you?" he repeated whirling around and fixing her with a surprised look. "For what?"

"For cheering me up," answered the girl and, for the first time since he met her on the pier, Inuyasha actually saw her smile.

Okay, maybe he had been wrong when he thought she acted like Kagome and Kikyo. Both women would have bitten his head off after receiving such a lecture from him... but this girl only smiled in response... and beautifully at that. So beautifully in fact that it took a conscious effort on the hanyou's part to look away and return his gaze to the road ahead, mumbling an embarrassed "You're welcome" in the process.

No, this woman was neither Kikyo nor Kagome, she had just proved that without the shadow of a doubt. She was her own person, with her own feelings. Was she a person he could fall in love with? Inuyasha wasn't sure. The wound on his heart was still too fresh, his pain still too sharp for him to be certain of anything. But the lingering image of her smile dancing in his mind told him that maybe, just maybe, with time, things might eventually turn out for the best.

* * *

**Author's note:** Well there you have it in all its 22 pages glory :). I hope you liked it. I had originally intended on having the girl find herself a name, but in the end, I decided to leave this to everyone's imagination. This story leaves many doors open as you can see and that's the sort of endings I like he he he. Anyway, as always, read and review people and tell me what you think :).


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